Apple Cinnamon Muffins

During this past holiday season, we ate a lot of muffins at my house.  No, really, a lot of muffins.  I got into a serious muffin baking mood and every weekend, we had a different kind.  The apple cinnamon muffins turned out to be one of my favorites, probably because once they have baked, you dip the tops in melted butter then in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.  What’s not to love about that?

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins)

2 cups peeled, diced apples, about 3 medium apples

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 t vanilla

½ cup milk

2 cups flour + 2 t

1 ½ t baking powder

½ t salt

1 t cinnamon

Topping:

1 stick butter

½ cup sugar

¼ cup cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 375º.  Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix together apples and 2 teaspoons flour and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar until light and creamy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated.  Mix in vanilla and milk.  Add flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon to mixture and mix until combined.  Fold in apples.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and top springs back when touched.   Cool about 5 minutes in tin before removing to a cooling rack.

For the topping, melt butter in small bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon.  Dip the top of each muffin in the butter then in the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  Set back on the cooling rack to finish cooling.